This chapter narrates the many relationships and acquaintances of Marcel Proust that would help in the building and formulation of his novel. It begins with the young men he befriended during his ...
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This chapter narrates the many relationships and acquaintances of Marcel Proust that would help in the building and formulation of his novel. It begins with the young men he befriended during his 1908–1909 summer vacations, where he met two engineers, Pierre Parent and Max Daireaux, and his most interesting new acquaintance Albert Nahmias fils. These attractive young men would find their way into Within a Budding Grove as a little band of girls in bloom that the Narrator encounters at the beach at Balbec. The chapter also narrates the apocryphal account of the meeting between Proust and Oscar Wilde, whose case and trial would make its way into Proust's work Sodom and Gamorrah. The chapter thus relates other similar encounters and acquaintances that would greatly influence Proust's writing of In Search of Lost Time.Less

Where Fair Strangers Abound

William C. Carter

Published in print: 2006-05-11

This chapter narrates the many relationships and acquaintances of Marcel Proust that would help in the building and formulation of his novel. It begins with the young men he befriended during his 1908–1909 summer vacations, where he met two engineers, Pierre Parent and Max Daireaux, and his most interesting new acquaintance Albert Nahmias fils. These attractive young men would find their way into Within a Budding Grove as a little band of girls in bloom that the Narrator encounters at the beach at Balbec. The chapter also narrates the apocryphal account of the meeting between Proust and Oscar Wilde, whose case and trial would make its way into Proust's work Sodom and Gamorrah. The chapter thus relates other similar encounters and acquaintances that would greatly influence Proust's writing of In Search of Lost Time.